Our female scientists in the Council for Women in Higher Education and Science
The Minister of Science and Higher Education has announced the establishment of the Council for Women in Higher Education and Science. The new advisory board is to support gender equality measures in academia, analyse the situation of women in science and recommend solutions to improve their working conditions and career development in science. The Council was headed by a scientist from the University of Wrocław, prof. dr hab. Anna Pacześniak from the Institute of European Studies, and also included the Vice-Rector for Internationalisation, dr hab. Patrycja Matusz, prof. UWr.
The Council as a response to inequalities in science
The Council for Women in Higher Education and Science was established to support equal opportunities, the development of women’s scientific careers and the improvement of their working conditions. Its task will be to identify areas of action for the Minister in terms of equality policies, to give an opinion on regulations and laws prepared by the Ministry and to identify measures to counteract gender-based exclusion.
Aims and tasks of the Council
The Council’s tasks will include the following:
- analysing the situation of women in science and higher education,
- giving its opinion on draft laws and regulations in terms of gender equality,
- recommending measures to eliminate barriers and discrimination,
- researching foreign solutions in order to implement good practices in Poland.
Minister Marcin Kulasek expressed the hope that the Council will contribute to improving conditions for women’s scientific work and career development, and will help break the ‘glass ceiling’ in academia.
The establishment of the Council for Women in Higher Education and Science is an important step towards building a fairer and more equal scientific environment. The Council’s activities are expected to accelerate cultural and institutional changes that will enable women to realise their full potential in science and higher education.
